Friday, October 28, 2011

Were it not for Camron (yes, Cameron Giles), I probably would not have an appreciation for this song. I guess Cam's "What Means The Worldto You" for me, is an example of how a sample used in a hip-hop song can make you appreciate the original or at the very least, expose you to the original when otherwise you may not have known about it. The first time I heard this beat was in Camron's song and I'll admit that I would not have known about "Roxanne" had I not seen it online the other day and heard the beat and thought "that's where Cam [or better yet, whoever produced the song] got that beat from!". Cam's version might be a classic hip-hop song though, lol.

Sidebar: T-Pain's "I'm In Love With A Stripper" has an eerily similar focus to that of Roxanne (yes, I realize a prostitute and a stripper are not one-in-the-same).

Now that I've got your attention, if you haven't already figured it out from the picture above this post is not going to be about what you think, lol. Feel free to close the window/tab now if you think this is going to be about promiscuity, lol.

This post is about an initiative that one of my best friends has started to bring awareness to a very important issue, homelessness. I'll give you background real quick.

Baltimore (like many urban areas) has a problem with homelessness.

Baltimore City has a plan called "The Journey Home" that seeks to address homelessness over the next decade.

Most of us don't care until we see a homeless person: 1) at a light asking us for money or 2) somewhere we don't expect them to be. Sure we feel bad when we see a homeless person but we probably just keep on driving or walking away and five minutes later we're not even thinking about it (myself included).

Homelessness is a problem most of us accept but do not act to mitigate or alleviate.

Now for the part where my buddy comes in. In his recent article in the Baltimore City Paper entitled "Please Don't End Homelessness" (click that link) my friend Lionel Foster applauded The Journey Home but also raised the question, "Can we go even farther [than what The Journey Home plans for]"? The answer is undoubtedly yes and for that reason Lionel has taken it upon himself to come up with the following proposal:

"I want to sleep with the mayor. Seriously. I want to sleep with Mayor
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, whose name is printed larger than anyone
else’s right on the plan’s cover, outdoors for a night in front of City
Hall to bring real attention to homelessness in Baltimore. And I’d like
all of you to join us. The mayor and I would, of course, sleep in separate spaces. She’s married."

He challenges the mayor to pick a night where anyone that cares (that means me, you, you momma, and don't hide ya wife or ya kids, bring 'em) can come and sleep in front of City Hall in Baltimore to bring awareness to homelessness in the City. He's even created a website (www.onenightstandforhomelessness.com - click that link too!) where you can learn more, sign-up to sleep with the mayor (ha), and I'm sure in short order he'll have information up there about local organizations that aim to achieve some of the same goals that The Journey Home lays out and that he envisions.

I have to be honest and say that I oftentimes poke fun at Baltimore (with me being from the DC-urrrea) and some of it's "shortcomings" comparatively but Baltimore definitely has it's good points and not unlike DC, Baltimore has a problem with homelessness. More importantly, a few years ago I realized that if you're going to live some place you may as well (while you're there) do your part to make that place a better one. And that applies even if you know you won't be there forever. People often talk about making the world a better place and larger goals of world peace, ending famine, finding a cure for AIDS and cancer, and so on. But you can make an impact right where you are if you just make a little bit of time to put forth the effort.

And just in case you're immature (ahem, fellas) and like to play along with the built-in joke to this awareness initiative, you can find a picture of Baltimore City's mayor (Stephanie Rawlings-Blake) at the Baltimore City website.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Off The Roots "Do You Want More?!?!?!!!" album (released in 1995) which also features "Proceed" and "My Mellow My Man". If you're a hip-hop fan and don't have this album in your repertoire, you need to get it pay for it ASAP. I remember my friend Brazil introducing me to The Roots around this time by suggesting I check out "Proceed". Once I heard that song I was a fan, and have been ever since.

Black Thought is another one of those slept-on MC's because he's stayed true to his group and not strayed away for solo success. I respect it a lot but I think it holds him back from larger success. But he strikes me as the type that probably doesn't care about the fame, being rich, or having all the attention to himself. The early era Roots stuff is what I think of when I hear people mention them nowadays but they've still been making quality music in more recent years, including a really dope album with John Legend called "Wake Up".

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

The visual for one of my favorite tracks off of Frank Ocean's "Nostalgia, Ultra" for its thought-provoking nature. If this song doesn't make you think just a little bit you probably already have it all figured out.